Orlando East River DB Tyler Castillo earns first offer from FAU

Orlando East River athlete Tyler Castillo has been offered a scholarship to play football at FAU, his first offer.

Orlando East River athlete Tyler Castillo has been offered a scholarship to play football at FAU, his first offer. (REINHOLD MATAY / FOR THE SENTINEL)

Orlando East River athlete Tyler Castillo was shocked by the news he received Monday when Falcons’ head coach Marc Rankin told him he was being offered a scholarship from FAU.

“It’s really exciting. I wasn’t expecting it at all,” said the 5-foot-10, 170-pound, do-anything athlete who is being offered as a safety by the Owls. “When Coach Rankin told me I was just surprised. I had to ask him a couple of times to see if he was serious.”

Both Castillo and fellow East River defensive back Shelton Lewis were offered by new FAU defensive line coach Terrence Jamison. It’s the second offer for Lewis, who was offered last month by Western Michigan, and the first for Castillo.

Castillo has served a number of roles for Rankin and even played a few games at quarterback during his career at East River. He’s a hard-nosed player who just likes the game, no matter the position.

“I talked to the [FAU] coach and he was saying he likes how I’m physical and can support the run from the safety position,” Castillo said. “He likes how I play with a lot of energy."

Castillo and Lewis tentatively are planning to visit the Boca Raton school for the spring scrimmage March 22.

“I’ve put a lot of thought into it already,” Castillo said. “I was talking to my parents about going to visit and if I like it I would commit, because it’s pretty close to home and a pretty decent-sized conference (Conference USA).

“It’s a good opportunity for me.”

With FAU under first-year head coach Charlie Partridge, the energy surrounding the Owls football program has ramped up in the past few months.

“[Coach Jamison] talked about that and they are really excited to see what’s going to happen in the coming year,” Castillo said. “And that made me a lot more excited about the offer.”

Castillo averaged eight tackles a game last season, and had three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He's always been a bit slight of frame, but he makes up for it in the way he plays the game.

"I play with a chip on my shoulder," Castillo said. "It means a lot to me to be able to go head-up with players and get knocked down but get right up and go knock them down."

He's added quite a bit of muscle mass in recent months and he's looking forward to a big senior season. The offer relieves a bit of pressure. He now knows that at least someone else believes he can play at the next level.

"You're always anxious to get that first offer and now that I have it, I can relax a little and just focus on playing my game," Castillo said.

He wasn't sure about when an offer might come his way, but he said he was optimistic.

"I know coaches are supposed to be coming to our spring practices, because that's what I've been told," Castillo said. "So I was expecting that if I show out then, and if they come out for the spring game and I show out again, then I might pick one up, but I was not expecting this one at all."

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